Cross Roads agrees to enter negotiations to create joint police force

Cross
Roads officials have decided to move negotiations forward with Aubrey and
Krugerville to create a joint police department and municipal court.

The
consolidation of services has garnered strong support from local leaders, who
want to prepare for the commercial and residential developments expected to
break ground along U.S. highways 377 and 380 in a couple of years.

The
consolidation of the departments would benefit each city, Aubrey Police Chief
Tommy Payne said.

“To get
the manpower we need to get to a [24/7] level of services puts a burden on the
budgets. But by combining, that burden is eased,” he said.

Cross
Roads Mayor Steve Smith and the Town Council were the last to agree to enter
the negotiations.

Smith
said he wanted the council and residents to discuss the pros and cons of having
a joint police department.

The
consolidation was just one of a few options the town considered, he said.

Smith’s
biggest concern was determining whether or not it was worth it for the town to
increase its annual budget for a joint department.

Smith
said the consolidation is only worthwhile if it makes “financial sense.”

According
to a proposed budget outline, the three municipalities would split the cost of
operations. Aubrey and Krugerville already have police budgets and would simply
adjust their budgets.

Aubrey
spends about $400,000 for its police department, and Krugerville spends about
$157,000.

But Cross
Roads will need to create a new expense if the consolidation is approved. The
Denton County Sheriff’s Office serves Cross Roads, which does not have its own
police force.

Smith
said the city is committing $300,000 in annual funding and an additional
one-time amount of $150,000 for equipment. Aubrey and Krugerville are
committing $300,000 and $200,000, respectively.

Officials
say the amounts that each city contributes could change over time.

“We’re
the smallest and can’t match what each city is putting up right now,”
Krugerville Mayor Dave Hill said. “At the end of each year, we’ll review the
budgets and adjust, accordingly.”

The
combined police force would have at least 13 employees, including a police
chief, an assistant police chief, an investigator and seven patrol officers.

Police
department officials from Krugerville and Aubrey have supported the idea for a
joint department since talks began.

Payne
said the idea of joint services has been kicked around for many years, but
never gained traction.

Talks
were revisited after developers began eyeballing the area for residential
development and new businesses, including a new Walmart Supercenter that’s
expected to open this year.

About
five months ago, the three municipalities met to discuss plans to merge police
forces as well as court systems in an effort to boost the services in their
region.

Officials
said the joint department is modeled after cities that have combined their
forces in a similar fashion.

Some
residents have expressed concerns about which city would be responsible for
maintaining the joint department, officials say.

Officials
said the decision to enter negotiations doesn’t mean that the consolidation is
a done deal.

“Details
can be addressed, but first, everyone is trying to see who’s on board with the
idea,” Smith said.

The
cities hope to have the agreements finalized and operational by Oct. 1, the
start of a new budget year.

JOHN D. HARDEN can be reached at
940-566-6882and via Twitter at @JDHarden.

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